M. soccer extends winning streak to four

Lindsey Williams’ ’05 first goal of the season could not have come at a better time.

Williams scored midway through the second half to lead the men’s soccer team past Fairfield, 1-0, Tuesday at Fairfield. It was the Bulldogs’ (5-3, 1-0 Ivy) fourth win in a row.

Williams, last year’s Ivy League points-leader, struggled early on this fall, but has recently found his stride.

“Lindsey has been playing really well lately,” head coach Brian Tompkins said. “He had his best game of the season against Harvard, but was a little unfortunate. He was able to capitalize against Fairfield.”

At 62:42, Williams took a through ball at the top of the box, beat his defender and blasted a shot into the lower-left corner of the net for the game’s lone goal.

“Sometimes it just takes that first goal,” Tompkins said. “We need Lindsey to be productive up front. It’s his job to score.”

Yale dominated Fairfield in the first half, outshooting the Stags, 6-0.

The Bulldog backfield was impenetrable. Fairfield did not take its first shot until the 78th minute. But the Bulldogs had problems of their own, failing to capitalize on several chances to make the game a blowout.

“We’re not pleased with the manner in which we’re winning,” Tompkins said. “We have to do a better job of taking a team out of the game. We have to get that second and third goal.”

The Elis, who boast only one multi-goal game this season, have scored a total of four goals in their last four wins. They have had trouble finishing their chances, and consequently, finishing off their opponents.

“We’ve been in a situation [in which] teams are down by only one goal and they play with desperation, which puts a lot of pressure on us,” Tompkins said. “We can’t count on winning every game, 1-0.”

Defender Luke Rona ’04 agreed that the team’s inefficiency is a cause for concern.

“We’ve played well and we’ve been lucky,” Rona said. “We could have gotten another goal and taken the air out of their game. It’s a matter of being ruthless.”

Yale next takes on Dartmouth tomorrow at 4 p.m. at Yale’s Soccer-Lacrosse Stadium.

The Elis, who defeated Harvard 1-0 on Oct. 4, will try to stay undefeated in conference play, but a one-goal effort might not be enough this time.

Last year, Yale managed to find the back of the net twice against the Big Green, and even then was only able to come away with a tie.

“Dartmouth is an athletic, well-organized, well-coached team,” Tompkins said. “We anticipate it being one of our tougher games.”